1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector having a connector body and a shield frame mounted thereon.
2. Description of the Invention
When a shield frame and a connector body are not assembled as a unitary structure and are independently distributed unlike the electrical connector abovementioned, it is a matter of course that such connector elements lack handling convenience and workability in the middle course of distribution or when the connector is mounted on a circuit board. Further, the shield frame, which is made by bending a thin-sheet material, is handled as an independent article. This may cause inconvenience in that the shield frame may be deformed due to a shock received at the time of handling.
To minimize such inconvenience, it is be proposed to assemble, in a production line, the shield frame and the connector body to produce a completed article of electrical connector and to distribute or mount the same on a circuit board.
In a conventional electrical connector C' shown in FIG. 8, a shield frame 510 is mounted on a connector body 500. This electrical connector C' is mounted on a circuit board P. The shield frame 510 is provided at lateral sides thereof with upwardly inclined engagement pawls 511 and at the lower end thereof with resilient contact pieces 512. The connector body 500 has an engagement portion 501 in the form of a slot. The engagement of the engagement pawls 511 with the engagement portion 501 prevents the shield frame 510 from being separated from the connector body 500. When the electrical connector C' is mounted on the circuit board P, the contact pieces 512 are pressed to and come in surface-contact with the circuit board P. This produces shielding results.
When mounting the electrical connector C' in FIG. 8 on the circuit board P, the following step is required. That is, with the contact pieces 512 of the shield frame 510 bent as they are pushed to the circuit board P, terminals 502 are soldered to the circuit board P. At this soldering step, the restoring force F of the contact pieces 512 is applied in such a direction as to raise the electrical connector C'. This may involve the likelihood that the electrical connector C' after being mounted on the circuit board P comes up therefrom, or that the contact pieces 512 are restored to a certain extent, failing thereby to produce the required contact pressure.